Mother from another galaxy
by Heroman95
Summary: While on patrol, Arcee comes under decepticon attack with innocent humans getting caught in the crossfire. Now she must fulfill a promise to a dying woman with all of her spark. Join in and watch as one event will change her life forever.
1. Chapter 1: The promise

**AN: This story will mainly focus on family forged both by blood, and by bond. There will be some action and romance, but the relationship between the starcrossed family is my concern for the moment.**

 **I'm only going to say this once, I don't own Transformers Prime; I only own the idea of the story. So don't sue, because you'll get nothing.**

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Chapter 1: The promise

 **Jasper, Nevada**

It had been some time since the Autobots left their home planet of Cybertron to go to Earth. It would be easy enough to say that not all of them were pleased with that decision; with Ratchet obviously being the most disappointed. But deep down, they knew that they had no choice. Their planet was dying, and could no longer support life. Their leader Optimus Prime, thought that Earth might hold the key to their salvation; and for the most part, he was right. The Earth was riddled with numerous deposits of untapped energon. The mission given to them by Optimus Prime, was not only to secure these deposits; but also to protect the humans that live on Earth.

Driving down the desert highway was a cobalt blue motorcycle with a hot pink trim on the front fender. In actuality, this was Arcee; one of Optimus's strongest fighters, and his second in command (SIC). The area that she was driving in was nothing but miles of sand, mountains, and a few different types of plant life. She was looking for signs of energon, or for any Decepticons, with no luck. "No energon, and not a con in sight; this is officially the most boring patrol I've ever been on." Suddenly Arcee noticed two black and purple cars were following her. Without warning, the two cars popped out their energon blasters and opened fire on her. "Finally, some action" she said. She slammed on her breaks and turned around to face them, before transforming to her full twenty foot tall stature. Her main color was blue with pink running across her wrists, ankles, and the horn on her forehead; she also had blue optics with pink outlines, and two small winglets protruding from her back. "LET'S DANCE, CONS!" she yelled her battle cry to them. Just then, they transformed into forms only slightly taller than her; their armor was a mix of black and purple, and their heads were chrome silver with one red visor going across their faces. The next thing that could be seen was them shooting at Arcee while she charged at them, avoiding their lasers.

Meanwhile, driving down the road in a tan sedan, was a woman in her early to mid twenties; in the back seat was her infant son who was sleeping peacefully in his carseat. She had black hair, tied in a ponytail, light blue eyes; and she wore a tan jacket with blue hospital scrubs and white tennis shoes. Her name was June Darby; she had just given birth a few days ago. She was still trying to recover from her husband leaving her after he found out that she was pregnant; she knew that he had commitment issues, but she never knew it was that bad. Although it did take him three years to propose. Now she had to raise her son, all on her own; she had to provide for him, so she struggled to put herself through nursing school. As she looked through the mirror at her sleeping son, she began to smile. He had no hair on his head yet, and he wore blue pajamas with a red truck on them. He was her angel, her whole reason for living; and she loved him with all her heart. She looked back at him for a moment and said "How's mommy's little angel doing?"

The next thing she saw when she turned around was three giant robots, fighting tooth and nail for supremacy. "Ahahaha" she screamed as she slammed on the breaks. As the fight went on, one stray shot went right past Arcee and hit June's car. The car went swerving off the road and into the side of a mountain. The crash caused a piece of the mountain to break off and land on the hood of the car. "Oh no" Arcee said. She knew she had to finish the fight fast, so she could help the people in the car. She jumped up in the air, doing a drop kick to one of the con's heads; before bouncing off and doing a spinning kick to the other. Then she pulled out her blasters and started pelting them with shots. After they were done being hammered by shots, they decided to transform and retreat. After they were gone, Arcee went to help the humans; when she got there, she took stock of the situation. The hood had a huge boulder on it, and was covered with small rocks that left it totally destroyed. The woman's head was bleeding, and she had a huge hole in her chest; probably a result of the energon blast that hit them. "Are you okay?" Arcee asked. At that moment the woman screamed. "It's okay, I'm here to help" she responded. "Just hold on, I'm going to get you out of here."

She started to move the boulder and the smaller rocks off of the car. Once she was done, she tried to focus on helping her. "I know it's hard, but I need you to focus; what's your name?" "June, June Darby" she said weakly. "Alright June; I'm Arcee. I'm going to get you out now." "No, save my son first." With that, Arcee ripped the door off and pulled him out of the car. "Is he alright?" June asked. "He's fine, now it's your turn." But both June and Arcee knew deep down that she wasn't going to make it. "Take...take care of him. Promise me you'll make sure he grows up strong and healthy, promise me" she said with her dying breath. "I promise" Arcee answered her. "His name is Jack Darby. And he's all yours now." And with that, June Darby took her last breath as her body fell limp and lifeless. Arcee looked at Jack, who started crying; and she was determined now more than ever to keep her promise. "Ratchet, I need a bridge" she said over her comm link. A few seconds later, a swirling green vortex leading back to base, opened up. Arcee walked through carrying Jack and dragging the car with her. "I'll keep my promise June, no matter what."

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 **AN: Sorry I didn't get too much into detail, I'm not very good at that. I'll try to make the next chapter more fun, see you next time. STAY AWESOME!**


	2. Chapter 2: The adjustment

**AN: Before we get started I have to address a few things. 1. I know the last chapter was short and lacking a few details; but my tablet was being kind of a jerk, so I was in a bit of a hurry to get everything done. 2. I suck at describing things; June's car probably wasn't tan, and Arcee may have had more pink on her body. I was just going by what I saw on the show, and I haven't watched it in a while. And lastly, I'm new to fanfiction, so I'm bound to make a few mistakes; but I ask that you be patient with me. So with that being said, let's jump into it.**

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Chapter 2: The adjustment

As the Groundbridge closed, questions were raised when the other Autobots saw Arcee carrying a small crying human in one servo, and dragging a destroyed car with the other. The first to break the silence was Ratchet. "By the Allspark, what happened?" Ratchet murmured. Ratchet was orange with white panels, and had two horns that looked like eyebrows protruding from his helm. He was only a little taller than Arcee; measuring up at 25ft, and to those that met him, might be considered a bit of a grouch. "It's a long story" Arcee responded. "We got time" Cliffjumper shot back. Cliffjumper was Arcee's partner; he was roughly the same height as Ratchet and Bumblebee. He was mostly red with some parts silver, and he had small horns growing out of the sides of his helm. You probably wouldn't meet an Autobot with more wise cracks than Cliffjumper. Both Bumblebee and Bulkhead walked over to Arcee to get some answers. Bumblebee was yellow with black stripes; the poor scouts voice box had been damaged by Megatron during the war, now he just speaks in beeps. Bulkhead was 30ft and was mostly green with black. He was a wrecker, which meant that he was the toughest of the tough.

 **"Seriously, what happened?"** Bumblebee beeped. "Yeah, tell us Arcee" Bulkhead stated. Suddenly loud footsteps could be heard, signaling the arrival of Optimus Prime. Optimus was 35ft, both his arms and torso were red; he also had a blue helm and blue legs. To the other Autobots, Optimus was seen as the wisest and bravest out of all of them; ( that's probably why he was the leader.) "Arcee, explain yourself" Optimus ordered. Arcee suddenly found herself the center of attention, and she did not like it. After Arcee set the car down, she started to tell the others what had transpired that day. She told them about her fight with the cons, how she tried to help the humans, and about the promise she made. "You don't seriously intend to go through with this do you; I mean what could you possibly know about raising a human child?" Ratchet declared. "I gave her my word Ratchet; so I owe it to her and myself to follow through."

"While I commend your dedication to keeping your word Arcee; do you truly believe this is a feat of which you can accomplish?" Optimus questioned. "Honestly Optimus, I don't know; but what I do know is that I wouldn't be much of an Autobot if I gave up without trying. This human, Jack; he has no one now, and that's something I can change right here, right now. I'm not going to let him be alone, not if I can help it." Optimus looked at her with a new found sense of respect. Because he knew when you have the chance to make a choice or not, it's always important to do what you believe to be right instead of focusing on how hard the choice may be. And to see her realize that at such a young age ( by Cybertronian standards ) shows a level of tremendous growth. "I can see your mind has been made up. Would I be correct in assuming there is no changing it?" Optimus inquired. "No Optimus, there isn't." "Very well then Arcee; we shall leave the child in your care." Arcee seemed to be happy with this discussion; as a matter of fact, almost all the Autobots seemed to be happy with this discussion, all but one. "WHAT?" Ratchet screamed. "Optimus, with all due respect, the child is in just as much if not more danger here as anywhere else; should he get underfoot, he will go squish" Ratchet stated. "Then for the time being Ratchet, we must watch where we step" Optimus responded.

It was then that the proximity alert went off; the screens came to life, showing a helicopter landing on the roof. A man with dark skin and a exceeding gut stepped out; he was wearing a gray suit with a white button up shirt, he also wore a tie and dress shoes. He was Special Agent William Fowler, liaison to the Autobots. Fowler had a no nonsense kind of attitude, and a very by the book way of dealing with things. As he stepped into the elevator and made his way down to the base, he would soon learn just how complicated the day was getting. "PRIME!" Fowler shouted at the top of his lungs. "I just got a report saying that there was a brawl between two giant robots almost an hour's drive from Jasper; not exactly keeping a low profile, are you?" When Agent Fowler saw Jack nestled in Arcee's servos, he was less than pleased. "What's this; you bots managing some kind of daycare? Where did that baby come from?" Fowler demanded to know. It was at that point where Arcee revealed today's events to Fowler. Fowler had a few choice words to say about Arcee's decision.

"You want to keep him; he's not a pet you know. Look, the point is if you have this fantasy about being that boy's mother, then you have to push that thought out of your mind. "What's a mother?" The Autobots asked not understanding the reference. Agent Fowler tried to find the right words to describe it. "A mother is a woman who gives birth to a child." "Oh you mean like a sire, right?" Cliffjumper asked. "Kind of, but not exactly; it's actually the partner of the sire, you know the mate." Agent Fowler did his best to explain it scientifically. He explained that being a mom wasn't just a woman who gives birth, but also someone who would raise and love you. At the end of the explanation the Autobots understood what he meant. "Anyway, I'm sure the government will want to take that boy into custody." Fowler said as he walked down the stairs to take Jack from Arcee. Just then all the other Autobots stood in front of Arcee, blocking Fowler's path. "Arcee's mind has already been made up; she's keeping him and that's that, unless you want to start something you can't finish." Cliffjumper said with confidence. Finally ( all be it reluctantly ) Fowler gave in. "Fine, but this can't get in the way of your work" Fowler said.

The next few hours were filled by Fowler trying to explain basic child care to them. He even went so far as to dig up information on Jack's real mother. Apparently her name was June Darby; she had married her old college boyfriend only for him to leave her when he found out she was pregnant. She became a nurse at a hospital in Jasper, and just a few days ago, she gave birth to a son. Fowler had made the arrangements for a cover story to be made. All the news reports would say is that June Darby was killed in a car accident, and that Jack became a ward of the state. After that, the next couple of days were filled with Fowler teaching Arcee how to be a mom. He got her all the supplies she would need from the store, he even got her some parenting books, and he built her a crib to put Jack in. As the days went by, Arcee began to experience the trials and hardships of being a mom.

Day after day, it was always the same thing; whenever Arcee wasn't on a mission, she would always make time for Jack. She would change his diapers, made sure he was fed and put him down for a nap. She even moved his crib into her quarters to be closer to him. It is true that there were obstacles to overcome, but her biggest challenge to face was when he would wake her up from power down at all hours of the night. She would get up from her birth to get him out of the crib and attend to his needs. While she was rocking him back to sleep, he started to smile and laugh before he grabbed onto one of her servos. And it was at that one moment that Arcee realized that motherhood has its rewards. Knowing that there is this small life that you're nurturing and preparing to enter into the world. And to her, that felt like the greatest feeling in the world. After he fell asleep, she put him back in the crib and said "Don't worry, everything's going to be okay, I promise."

Soon after that, days turned into weeks and weeks into months. Then one day when Arcee was finished feeding him, she held him in her arms and he spoke for the first time. "Mama" he said with affection. When he said those words, Arcee started to smile as her spark was filled with joy. "Wow, his first words; according to Fowler, that's supposed to be a big deal. Give it a little while and he'll be walking in no time" Cliffjumper half joked. Although Arcee didn't think it was too funny. Then she set Jack down so she could talk to the other Autobots. **"Hey guys, check it out."** Everyone looked to where Bumblebee was pointing with amazement. There on the floor was Jack standing on two legs, and then he started walking. Slowly but surely he made his way to Arcee. Arcee started to smile and got down on her knees and held her arms wide open. "That's it, come to mommy" Arcee said. When Jack finally reached her, she scooped him up in her arms and kissed his head. "That's my boy, I'm so proud of you" Arcee said with pride.

"Amazing, the kid's strong just like his mom" Cliffjumper said. "You got that right Cliff" Arcee said knowing exactly what Cliffjumper meant. Arcee didn't know what the future holds, but she knew that as long as she had Jack, it would be a bright one. And she would scrap anyone who tried to hurt him.

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 **AN: Just so you guys know, I based this part of the story off of a movie; but you won't find out which movie until the next chapter. Until next time, STAY AWESOME!**


	3. Chapter 3: Growing up

**AN: After you've read the last chapter I hope you all go and hug your mothers and tell them just how much you love them. Because I really tried to make the chapter all warm and fuzzy. So this story is a shout out to all the mothers of the world. No matter who they are; the workaholic moms, the single moms and the smothering moms. WE LOVE YOU MOM! Now without further ado let's jump into it.**

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Chapter 3: Growing up

 **Autobot base, time skip 4 years later**

"Jack, now where could he be? " Arcee questioned as she searched for him. Then almost as soon as she said that there was a noise that could be heard near a pile of stacked crates. Arcee smiled as she walked over to the crates and proceeded to move them. When she moved the last crate she found Jack crouched down on the floor and giggling. "There you are" Arcee said with joy. "You found me, you win mommy." Jack said referring to their game of hide and seek. "Well you didn't make it easy for me; your really good at this." "Now come on let's go find the others and then maybe we can get some ice cream." "YAY, ICE CREAM!" Jack screamed with excitement. Arcee scooped Jack up in her arms and went to find the other Autobots.

Jack was now four years old; and his fifth birthday was coming up soon. He wore a gray t-shirt with a white under shirt, blue jeans and black and white sneakers; ( His outfit from the show. ) To anyone else his family dynamic might have seemed weird; but not to Jack. To Jack it felt as normal as breathing. He honestly thought that Arcee and the other Autobots were his family. Bumblebee was like his big brother; Cliffjumper and Bulkhead were the fun uncles. Ratchet was the grumpy grandpa and Optimus was the wise father figure. When Jack and Arcee found the others she set him down on the couch in the human area so she could talk to Ratchet. "So what's new Ratchet; any con activity?" Arcee asked eagerly. "No; for the moment everything is surprising quiet." Ratchet answered back to her. " well if you don't have a mission for me then I think I'm going to go train. "

"Can I come and watch?" Jack murmured the question to his mother. "Sure thing kiddo" Arcee said with a smile plastered on her face. With that she picked Jack up and made her way to the training hall. After they arrived at the training hall Arcee put Jack down and started throwing some punches and kicks as if she was fighting an invisible opponent. Jack watched in amazement as he saw his mother do moves a trained fighter could only dream of. "So have you thought of what you want for your birthday?" Arcee asked Jack with a sense of curiosity. "Well...I'm not sure yet." "well you better decide quickly; it's coming up soon you know." "I know, it's just...there's So many things I could ask for." Jack said as he struggled to find his words.

"Well let me help you with that. Your not getting a pet so don't even ask." "Awe your no fun" Jack whined about his mother's decision. "Says you; I'll have you know I'm a very fun mom." Then Arcee popped out her blasters and took aim at the training dummies. She let off a few shots before another idea popped into Jack's head. "What about my own set of blasters?" Jack asked hoping his mom would say yes. "Yeah, nice try; maybe when you turn eighteen." "Awe but that'll take forever." "Not as long as you think. It seems like only yesterday that you were a cute little baby." Arcee said reminiscing on the past. After Arcee took one more shot she was satisfied with her workout. She put away her blasters, turned to Jack and said. "Alright now how about we get that ice cream." "Okay" Jack answered his mother with enthusiasm. Then they both made their way back to the command center.

Just as they returned to the command center so too did Bulkhead and Bumblebee walk through the ground bridge. They had just got back from a energon scouting mission and were beginning to stack the energon cubes they brought back. "Not a bad find for today's bounty." Bulkhead stated to anyone that would listen. **"You can say that again. "** Bumblebee declared to everyone. Just then one of the cubes fell and landed a few feet away from the pile. "Let me help" Jack said as he ran to the fallen cube. "Thanks but I think it's a little too heavy for you." But Jack didn't listen as he tried in vain to move the giant cube. He pushed with all his might; he even went so far as to use his own body as leverage. But the result was always the same, failure. Arcee watched in amusement; she thought it was adorable how her little boy tried to move an object three times his size. But Jack never gave up.

"You need some help with that?" Bulkhead asked trying to be helpful. "No, I got it" Jack said with a sense of stubbornness. "I just need to find something I can use." Jack started looking around until he spotted something he could use. There on the shelf was a crowbar that he knew could help him. He walked over, got the crowbar and brought it back to the cube. He tried to wedge it under the cube to lift it. But every time he tried to lift it he failed. Then he got frustrated and started hitting it. That's when Arcee got worried and decided to step in. "Jack, you shouldn't do that. Energon is the most volatile substance on Cybertron." Jack didn't quite understand what his mother was saying but he knew it was bad. Without even thinking Jack threw the crowbar away only for it to hit and break one of the shelves. All the tools on the shelf fell to the floor including a blowtorch. The blowtorch landed right next to the cube and and lit up; probably a result of being damaged by the fall.

Arcee's optics widened in horror when she saw what was about to happen. "Scrap" she said before grabbing Jack and getting him to safety. "Hit the deck" she screamed in a hurry. Bulkhead and Bumblebee tried to shield the remaining energon from the blast. After the cube ignited it caused a huge explosion; thankfully no one was hurt and the base wasn't too badly damaged. Aside from some scorch marks and a very angry looking Ratchet. After Arcee put Jack down he was approached by Ratchet. " WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN SOMEONE KILLED, YOURSELF INCLUDED! " Ratchet screamed with all his might. "Ratchet; it was just an accident. He didn't mean any harm." "He caused an explosion Arcee. How is that an accident." "Maybe if you just gave him some time he could learn how to be a great Autobot." "He doesn't belong here with this family; no matter how much you want him to. And most importantly above all else. HE WILL NEVER BE ONE OF US!" After hearing all of that Jack couldn't take it anymore; so he ran away with tears in his eyes. "Jack, wait, come back" Arcee said before going after him.

Jack didn't even care where he was running; just as long as it was away from Ratchet. He just wanted to be alone right now. Then he came to an old store room filled with all kinds of different supplies. He looked at his reflection in a mirror and noticed that there were indeed differences between him and his mother. Where her skin was hard and durable; his was soft and squishy. He got angry as he thought of the other differences; so angry that he threw a bucket of paint at the mirror. As the bucket made contact with the mirror it shattered to pieces; and the bucket broke open splattering blue paint all over Jack's shirt and face. As he looked back at what was left of the mirror he was amazed at what he saw. His skin now looked blue just like his mother's; then an idea formed in his head. He reached into the bucket and rubbed more paint on his face until all of his face was covered; along with a few of his hairs. When he looked back at his reflection he saw a glimpse of what looked like his mother. "Jack, what are you doing?" Arcee said causing him to do a quick turnaround. "Why am I so different." "Because you're covered with paint, that's why." Arcee said as she got a clean clean rag from one of the shelves to wipe the paint off his face. "No" Jack said frustrated with her response. She got down on her knees and started wiping the paint off his face. "Ratchet said I didn't belong in the-" Jack said unable to finish as Arcee continued to wipe his face. "Close your mouth" she told him. "Ratchet said I don't belong in the family." "Nevermind what Ratchet said. " "Now hold still" she instructed. "But, look at me" he said while taking a step back. "I am Jack; and do you know what I see?" She said while she wiped the remaining paint off. "I see two optics like mine and a nose somewhere, ah here." She said as she cleaned his face. "Two audio receptors and let's see, what else?" "Two servos" he stated happily. "That's right" she answered while placing her servos against his hands. He pulled them away and looked at them with disappointment. Arcee let out a sigh; Sat down next to Jack and said. "Close your eyes and forget what you see; what do you feel?" He closed his eyes; put his hand up to his chest and said "My spark." "Come here" Arcee said as she cradled him in her arms. He placed his head against her chassis to hear the hum of her spark. "Your spark" he said. "You see; they're exactly the same. Ratchet just can't see that." She said while hugging her son. "I'll make him see it; I'll be the best Autobot ever." He said doing a superhero pose. "I bet you will" she said while she ruffled his hair.

 **Insert: Son of man by Phil Collins**

On the next day Jack began his Autobot training. He started off by watching his mother practicing her hand to hand combat on the training dummies. After he was done watching he decided to try some of those moves he saw her do. Arcee stopped what she was doing to see how he was doing. First he threw a punch at one of the dummies; then pulled back his hand and tried to shake off the pain. After his punch didn't work he tried to kick it. That caused the dummy to topple over and fall right on top of him. Arcee let out a small laugh as she watched her son be pinned to the ground by the training dummy. Jack got up after Arcee pulled the dummy off of him. While watching his mother fight Jack finally knew what he wanted. He told her he wished that one day he could be as strong as she was. She responded by telling him that she thought he was still a few decades away from that. But Jack wouldn't give up; he would be a great Autobot one day.

The next thing Jack wanted to learn was how to shoot. He watched as Bumblebee set up some targets. After Bumblebee lined up his shot he fired off a few energon blasts at the targets. He never missed a single shot. When he was done he pointed at the targets; indicating to Jack that it was his turn now. He bent down and handed Jack a human sized energon rifle; which Ratchet took the liberty of making for him. Jack struggled to lift it; but eventually took aim at a target. When he pulled the trigger the force of the blast knocked him on his butt; and the shot ricocheted off the walls. Bumblebee grabbed Jack in an attempt to shield him from the blast. When it was over Jack just smiled at Bumblebee in an impish, apologetic way. On occasion Jack still tried to lift one of the energon cubes. But they still wouldn't budge. He considered that one of his greatest challenges. He knew that once he accomplished lifting it that he would be one step closer to becoming a better Autobot.

As time went on he got older, wiser and stronger. Soon enough years went by and he was now the age of sixteen. Jack had gotten better at the things he couldn't do as a child. Now his shooting skills were on pare with Bumblebee. Whenever Jack fired off a shot from his energon rifle it always hit the dead center of the target. When Jack tried to lift one of the cubes yet again; he just knew that the outcome would be different this time. And sure enough he was right; he lifted with all his might and this time he managed to flip the cube on it's side. He continued this process until it was all the way over by the other stacked cubes. Finally he used all of his strength to lift the cube just above his head; his muscles were strained as he slid the cube on top of another. After he had let go; he saw what he did. "YES!" he shouted over his victory.

When he was finished with that he decided to go back to the training hall. He started hitting the dummies; which looked a lot like Megatron and the other Decepticons. He slammed his fist into the fake Starscream and did a spinning kick against the fake Megatron; knocking them both down. As Arcee watched her son fight she was filled with a strange new found sense of pride. She had never imagined that she would be a mother. A few years ago she didn't even know what the term ment. But after seeing him grow and learn; she knew that it was all worth it. He was the light of her life. And she'd be damned if she was going to let anyone take him from her. Bit by bit she saw Jack accomplish all he set out to do. Slowly but surely he was on his way to becoming the best Autobot ever; by human standards of course.

 **End: Son of man**

 **That's right; I based this part of the story off of the 1999 movie Tarzan. I mean a boy being raised by Autobots all his life; how much more could you compare it to Tarzan. The 1999 movie is my favorite version of Tarzan. I know I probably made Arcee a little out of character. She's supposed to be a battle hardened warrior; but motherhood changes a person. Oh, and one more thing; I don't own Tarzan or any of the songs used in the movie. Please don't sue; I have no money to give.**


	4. Chapter 4: New friends

**AN: Not all of us have** a **mom; and sometimes even when you do they're not exactly the greatest role models in the world. But I grew up believing in one thing; that no matter who you are you have to have respect for everyone. That's not the same as liking them; but it is a matter of respecting someone as a person. You have to have respect for your family, respect for your friends and even respect for your enemies. That's why I think single mothers like June Darby deserve the most respect. Because they sacrifice so much for us; just to make sure that we grow up safe and happy. Moms are the best. Now let's jump into this story.**

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Chapter 4: New friends

 **Autobot base**

Jack was surrounded by darkness on all sides; and no matter how far he ran there was no source of light that could be seen. Suddenly that all changed when two bright lights headed right for him. They were revealed to be none other than head lights of an out of control car. The car sped right past him and crashed into a pile of rocks; the rocks fell on top of it seemingly burying the car. And just as soon as the car appeared it vanished. It was then replaced by a woman who looked to be in her early twenties. The next thing he knew she was reaching out to him and began to run towards him. She was halfway to him before she shouted "JACK!"

Jack shout up from his bed in a fright. His face was all sweaty; no doubt caused by the intense dream he just had. He decided to take a walk around the base to clear his head. When he got to the command center he saw his mom and Agent Fowler arguing about something. "He should go now while the school year is still young." Fowler said to a less than convinced Arcee. "He's not ready" Arcee explained to Fowler. "He's not ready, or your not ready?" "He doesn't even know how to drive yet. You really expect him to know how to survive in the outside world?" Arcee said annoyed at the thought of Jack leaving the nest. "Arcee, while your concerns are warrented; the fact remains that we can not overlook matters of such importance. It is imperative that Jack learns of his planet's history; as well as that of his people's." Optimus said trying to put Arcee's mind at ease. "Optimus with all due respect; this is my son we're talking about here. I just want him to be safe."

"What are you guys talking about." Jack said as he approached the group. "What are you doing out of bed?" Arcee questioned. "I had a bad dream. Is something wrong; what's going on?" "Nothing sweety, go back to bed." Jack obviously knew that something was in fact bothering his mother. "Come on mom; whatever this is about you can tell me, I promise." Arcee was truly touched by Jack's level of understanding. She decided that he would be able to hear the truth of the matter. "Fowler and the others think that it's about time that you started going to school with kids your own age." As she said those words she could only begin to imagine what his response to them would be.

"So, when do I leave?" Jack asked. Arcee's spark started to break at the thought of her little boy growing up. "Well, I told them that you couldn't go." She said with a certain amount of honesty in her voice. "I don't understand; why don't you want me to go to school?" "Because in case you haven't noticed, we're fighting a war here. A war we won't win if I spend all my time worrying about you." To say that Jack didn't see where his mom was coming from would be untrue. He knew that if he was a parent he would be just as concerned for his child's wellbeing as she was. But he also knew that he couldn't hide out in a secret base for the rest of his life. Sooner or later he would have to join the rest of the world. It was just a question of whether or not he could convince his mom to go along with that. "I don't see what the problem is mom; I mean I'm not exactly defenseless. And I'd only be gone for half a day." He said in an attempt to bring her around to his point of view.

"It doesn't matter; a lot can happen in that brief window of time." Arcee said trying to discourage him from making a bad decision. "If your worried about me, you don't have to be. You always taught me to make smart choices and I always will, you know that." As time went on Arcee got more and more annoyed with this conversation. "Jack your not going and that's the end of it. Now go to your room; I'll be coming by in a little bit to check on you." With a heavy heart Jack turned around and began to walk back to his room. He walked a few feet away from her before turning back to look at her and saying. "You know, if you can go off to war then I don't see why I can't be let out of the house every once in a while." Jack then turned around and proceeded to walk the rest of the way back to his room. That had been the first time in a long time that Jack had ever talked back to his mom. "You know, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if the boy actuality learned more about his kind." Fowler said before he walked off. "Did I make the wrong decision Optimus?" Arcee asked seeming unsure of herself. "As his parent it is your duty to guide him on the right path; however you must allow him to make his own choices." Optimus responded to Arcee's question with the full wisdom of the Primes. Arcee let out a sigh in defeat and went off to find Jack.

Jack was just sitting on his bed; all alone in his room. As one thought kept entering his mind. The thought that maybe his mom would have changed her mind if had just talked to her more. Suddenly without warning his bedroom door was open and his mother was standing there in the doorway. Arcee walked right over to where Jack was sitting and Sat down on floor directly across from his bed. Now that she was facing him, she felt as if she could have a more open conversation with him. "You better get to sleep; next week is going to be a very busy time for you." "What? " Jack asked with a look of confusion towards his mother. "You start school next week; I'll talk to Fowler tomorrow about the details." "Are you serious?" he asked in excitement. Arcee just nodded her head in response as Jack's smile began to widen. "But first, tell me why this was so important to you." He thought about her question for a moment and said. "Because I've never once in all my life been outside of the base; and I've never even interacted with another human being, unless you count Agent Fowler. I know next to nothing about the outside world; and I think that's something that should change. But I can understand why you don't want me to go; your worried I'll get hurt."

Arcee wanted to be honest with Jack after hearing all that; so she decided to tell him the truth. "That's not the only reason I didn't want you to go. Ever since you were a baby I've always taken care of you; and if you left then it feels like I'd be all alone." Then Jack finally realized what had been bothering her. "Mom, I would never leave you, ever." Jack said as he grasped her servo in his hand. Arcee let a small smile creep across her face as she said. "I know, you are such a good boy Jack; and I just know that one day you'll grow into a good man. And I'll just have to get used to the idea of sharing you with the rest of the world. Now get some rest, there's a lot to do before next week." "Ok" he said before crawling under the covers to go to sleep. Arcee left shortly after he was settled in. The course of the next few days were spent trying to prepare Jack for his first time in the outside world. He was taught how to drive, he was given a cover story, and he was told what not to do when interacting with another person.

 **Jasper high**

Jack rolled up to the school's parking lot on a blue and pink motorcycle. As he got off Arcee asked him if he had everything he needed. He did a quick check and told her that he did. "Do you have your phone; and do you remember the cover story?" Arcee asked him with concern in her voice. A lot had been done to get Jack ready for today. Agent Fowler had given Jack a phone so he could call home or Arcee. Fowler had also arranged for Jack to take his driving test from home; and set up a cover story for him to use. The story was that Jack was a ward of the state who was recently adopted by a single mother. Jack wasn't stupid though; he knew all about Arcee adopting him when he was a baby. They've had tv for a few years now; and in that time the concept of adoption was finally explained to him. But whenever Jack would ask about how and why she adopted him her answer was always the same; she didn't want to talk about it. Although to Jack it really didn't matter why; because he loved her like she was his real mom.

"Yes I have it, and I remember" he told her reassuringly. "Ok, well I'll pick you up after school. So have a great day, Jack." And with that Arcee discreetly engaged her hologram and drove off. As Jack made his way up the stairs to the school he was stopped by a group of boys. Their leader had red hair and wore a green jacket with a white shirt, blue jeans and brown boots. "So you must be the new kid." The leader said with a distinct tone in his voice. "Hi, I'm Jack Darby." Jack said while holding out his hand to shake the other boy's hand. The boy just scowled at Jack; looking at him in disgust. After a few seconds went by Jack lowered his hand. "The name's Vince, and let me give you a little heads up. I run the school; and you and I are never going to be friends. If anything, I'm top dog and your just another loser that's beneath me, you got that?" The boy now known as Vince said bluntly to Jack. "Is this the part where I'm supposed to be intimidated? Because I've had nightmares more scary than you." Jack said with a fair amount of confidence. Vince and his friends started to chuckle before he pushed Jack down the stairs; luckily his backpack broke the fall.

After they left Jack got up and went inside to find his locker. While he was walking the halls he saw Vince and his friends picking on a young boy. The boy's name was Rafael Esquivel; he had brown spiked up hair and wore red glasses, a white shirt and orange sweater vest, blue jeans and orange and white sneakers, ( his outfit from the show. ) Vince had knocked his books from his hands before calling him a nerd and then he walked away. Jack went to go see if he could help him. "What is wrong with that jerk?" Jack asked as he helped him pick up his books and scattered papers. "Oh, it's nothing new, Vince and his friends have been picking on me for years now." When Jack herd that all he wanted to do was pummel Vince. "Why don't you stand up to him?" Jack asked. "Are you kidding, he'd destroy me. Besides it's not worth it. My name's Rafael Esquivel, but you can call Raf. He said while holding out his hand. "Jack Darby" he said while shaking Raf's hand. After his books were organised they both went their separate ways.

Jack found his locker and dropped off his backpack before making his way to his first class. When he got there he sat down at an empty desk and waited for the teacher to give them today's lesson. It didn't seem that hard, as a matter of fact none of the lessons he learned were that hard. Compared to the cybertronian lessons Ratchet had been giving him, all the subjects in school were small potatoes. As the day went on Jack aced every subject that came his way. Math was no problem, science was done in a jiffy, and even gym class was no match for his Autobot training. The only class he had trouble with was history; he wasn't exactly what you would call an expert on human history. When lunch rolled around Jack got his food and was looking for a empty seat. And sure enough he found one, right at the table where Raf was sitting. Raf was sitting all alone with his face glued to a book. Jack walked over and set his tray down on the table. "Is this seat taken?" Jack asked politely. "Uh, no by all means help yourself" Raf murmured. "So is this what school's always like?" Jack said as he sat down. "You sound like you've never been to school before" Raf stated. "I haven't, I've been home schooled all my life. But I got to say, aside from that jerk Vince this has actually been a pretty good day." They spent the rest of lunch getting to know each other. Apparently Raf was a twelve year old genius. Jack even told him about some of the aspects of his life; he left out the part about the Autobots though.

As the school day came to a close Jack was getting ready to leave. Then he saw Vince in the parking lot; yet again picking on someone. This time it was a young asian looking girl. Her hair was arranged in pigtails and dyed partly pink; the other half was raven black just like Jack's. She wore a purple shirt with a sleeveless blue shirt over top of it. She had on a yellow belt with shorts and purple leggings, and finally black boots with pink laces, ( her outfit from the show. ) "Give it back Vince." She said as she struggled to get her phone back from him. But Vince just got annoyed and pushed her to the ground. Jack clenched his fists as he saw that. That was the last straw, and he was going to make him pay. He walked over to him and said "Hey Vince, leave her alone." "Well if it isn't big boy Darby trying to be a hero. You want to take her place, because that can be arranged." Jack remained unfazed with only one thing left to say. "Then come and get me" he said unafraid of Vince. Vince's cronies were shocked by the amount of guts Jack had. Vince let out a small laugh before walking over to Jack and trying to punch him in the face. Jack dodged the first punch Vince threw, and the one after that, and the one after that. Finally Vince got frustrated and started throwing as many punches as he could before tiring himself out. "So are we starting now, or are you still getting warmed up?" Jack asked half jokingly. In his angered state Vince threw one last punch; but this time Jack caught it. He socked Vince in the gut and followed up with an uppercut to the jaw that sent him back a few steps. Vince saw Jack do the "bring it on" gesture before he shouted "GET HIM!" The girl watched as one by one Vince's friends fell to the ground in agony. Jack punched some of them in the face while doing a spinning kick to others, he even tried a few grappling moves on the ones that were still standing, until finally Vince was the only one remaining. Jack quickly did a drop kick that nailed Vince right in the face, sending him to the ground. "I'll take that thank you" Jack said as he grabbed the phone that rightfully belonged to the girl.

He walked over to the girl and gave her the phone back. "I think this belongs to you,miss, I'm sorry I didn't catch your name." Jack said trying to be as polite as possible. "Miko, Miko Nakadai" she answered as she took her phone and the offered hand Jack gave her. "Nice to meet you Miko, my name's Jack Darby." He said as he helped her to her feet. As he looked into her hazel eyes and she looked into his blue eyes they had forgotten that they were still holding hands. They both blushed bright red before releasing each other's hands. "So, where did you learn how to fight like that?" Miko asked. "My mom taught me" he said. " Wow, she sounds like a really great mom." "Yeah she is, anyway I have to go but I'm glad your okay, so see ya later." "Wait" she said in an attempt to stop him. "Can I see your phone first?" Miko asked hoping he'd say yes. Without saying another word Jack handed her his phone. He waited as she punched in her number and gave it back to him. "Call me sometime, ok." "Oh, you can count on that" Jack answered. As he walked off he realized that all in all it wasn't a bad day. He couldn't wait to go home and tell his mom about all the fun he had; and about the new friends he made.

 **I wish that moment between Jack and Miko would've happened to me in real life. I mean, what guy doesn't want to be a hero and get the girl at the same time? It's like one of those romantic fairy tales. Also it feels like it would be harder to hide the fact that your adopted if you weren't on a deserted island for years with no tv or internet. Especially if you were in modern times, unlike Tarzan. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, and please be patient for the next chapter. STAY AWESOME!**


	5. Loss, and darkness rising part 1

**AN: I know a lot of you have been asking me to update my story. But truth be told, I wasn't really sure what to do next. So I just decided to follow the story of Transformers Prime, while at the same time adding my own spin on things. And if this chapter seems a bit rushed then I apologise, I was just trying to get everything finished. So without further ado let's jump into it.**

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Chapter 5: Loss, and darkness rising part 1

 **Jasper**

While Jack stood in the school's parking lot, waiting for his mother to pick him up; he kept replaying the days events over and over again in his head. For the most part, he actually had a pretty good day, aside from having to deal with Vince and his friends of course. He got to see the outside world, he interacted with other people, he made a friend, and he even talked to a girl for the first time. As he waited for his mom, he kept wondering how she and the others would react to this news. He didn't have to wait long, because at that moment Arcee rolled up to the parking lot. After she came to a stop, he got on, put on his helmet, and then they both proceeded to make their way home. "So how was your first day of school?" Arcee asked with a reasonable scents of curiosity. "It was pretty good, but if you want some specifics, can it wait until we get home? I kinda want to tell everyone about the day I had." "Alright, so long as you tell me. I want to hear all about it." What followed next was a quiet and pleasant ride back to base

Meanwhile back in Jasper, Miko was walking home, and all she could think about was the boy that saved her. She knew that her host parents would ask her how her day went, just like all parents do. As she walked she tried to figure out how to play this. She could either lie and say that nothing happened, or she could tell the truth and risk them getting all worried. When she finally reached the front door of the house, she had made a choice, she would tell them. She opened the door and walked inside, and just as expected, her host parents were standing right there in front of her waiting for her report on what happened today. "So, how was school?" The mom asked with what seemed like all the enthusiasm in the world. Not knowing how to phrase it, she just decided to unload everything on them. "Well, in the beginning it started out boring as usual. But then just as school got out I was jumped by a bunch of bullies, who took my phone and pushed me down on the ground. But then this cute boy showed up, kicked their butts, and he also returned my phone to me as well as help me to my feet. So I was pretty much saved by a brave, ninja boy." "Ninja boy, good lord" the dad said sounding really surprised at today's events. After taking a moment to process all of this, Miko's host mom finally chose to speak up. "Well, he sounds like quite the gentleman. And apparently, you think he's cute." After hearing that Miko blushed a little, and then went upstairs to her room until it was time for dinner.

When Jack got home, he decided to tell everyone about his day. As he began to recount the events of the past few hours, everyone gathered around to listen to what he had to say. He told them about the jerks who gave him a hard time, he told them about the fairly easy classes he had, he even told them about the new friend he had made. Arcee was a little conflicted about what he just said. On the one hand, she was happy that he did well in his classes, and that he made a new friend; but on the other hand, she was upset at the fact that some of the other kids were picking on him. The very thought of someone trying to hurt her baby made her want to march down to that school and teach them a lesson. Little did she know that the most shocking part of his story was yet to come. "And the best part is, I..uh met this girl" Jack said while rubbing the back of his neck in an attempt to relieve stress. He wasn't sure how his mom would react to that part of the story. By then Jack had informed them about how he saved Miko from the bullies. At this point Arcee had entered full blown overprotective mother mode. "Well then, I've got three questions for you. What's her name, what's she like, and when do I get to meet her?" Arcee said while crossing her arms. "Um, Miko, I think she's pretty nice, and never, your supposed to be a government secret remember?"

"Miko, that doesn't sound like a very common name" Arcee exclaimed. "Well, I think that's because she's not from around here; then again, learning about human history and other cultures was never one of my strong suits." In all honesty Jack wasn't quite sure where Miko was from, but he suspected that it was Japan. The only reason he thought that Miko was japanese was because When he was a kid he watched some Japanese monster movies, and the people in those movies looked a lot like her. When he was home schooled, he was taught cybertronian science, math and history; he also learned how to read and speak cybertronian at a very young age. Math and science was pretty much the same no matter where you went; but earth history was a little bit different from cybertronian history, and whenever the topic of human history came up, he never really paid attention. But he knew that was something that he had to change. "You know, I realize that this is the first girl I've ever interacted with; but for some reason I just can't stop thinking about her. From the moment I looked into her eyes, all I can remember thinking is that she is so beautiful." Jack said while leaning against a wall in a dazed state of remembrance. After he said that Arcee realized that it was finally happening, her son was finally ditching her to spend time with another girl. But even though she was a little upset, she knew that she had to stay calm and keep her composure. "Well, it seems like you really like her. Now I definitely want to meet her" she said while sporting a wicked grin that was plastered across her faceplate. Jack started to blush in embarrassment at the very concept of his mom meeting the girl that he liked. "Uh, I got homework to do" he proclaimed before he walked off to his room. "Uh, yeah, I have to go on patrol, anyway. So I guess I'll see you later" she said just before transforming and driving out of the base.

Arcee spent the next hour or so driving down a deserted highway in a vain attempt to clear her head. "I mean, he goes to school for one day, and he's already got a girlfriend. So where does that leave me?" Arcee said while talking to Cliffjumper on the other end of her comm link. "Awe come on Arcee, you know it's not like that. Your his mom, he could never forget about you; he just wants to get out of the house and live a little. Because need I remind you that he's been cooped up at base all his life; so maybe it's a good thing to let him explore a little. And no girl, no matter how "beautiful", could ever come between you two." "I guess you're right; it's just, sometimes I feel like I'm not enough. Sometimes it feels like Jack would be better off without me." "Now Arcee, you can't think like that. Sure you can't do all the things a normal mom can; but there isn't a doubt in Jack's or anyone else's mind that you love him. And you got to know that he loves you right back." That's the thing about Cliffjumper, he always knew what to say to make Arcee feel better. While Cliffjumper was driving down the road, he got a blip on his screen. "I'm getting a signal" he said. "Need back-up?" she asked. "Do I ever need back-up?" he responded. According to Cliffjumper, he just found a hole lot of energon. About a minute later, he radioed Arcee and said "Uh, hey Arcee, listen, about that back-up." Lucky for him Arcee knew exactly what he ment; so she called the others, to help her rescue Cliffjumper.

They all arrived through the ground bridge, but by the time they got there, it was already too late. Cliffjumper was nowhere to be found. After a bit of searching, Ratchet got a ping on his screen. "No, Cliffjumper's life signal, just went offline" he said with sorrow in his voice. As soon as he said that, everyone that was present became modified. But no one was hurt more than Arcee, her partner Cliff was gone forever, and nothing could bring him back. While they all gathered around in remembrance of their fallen ally; Arcee knew that Jack was going to find out about this sooner or later, so she thought that it would be better if it came from her. When she got back to base, she went to his room, only to find out that he was nose deep in his history text book. He told her that he had finished his homework an hour ago, and that he was just trying to expand his knowledge of human history. She sat down next to his bed and told him that she had something important to tell him; after hearing that he put his book down and prepared for whatever she had to say. "Look Jack, there's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it. Cliffjumper was killed today." After hearing that Jack went through a spiral of emotions, first tears started to form in his eyes, and then he tried to deny what his mom told him. "No, that's impossible, he can't be dead, he's one of the strongest guys I know." When Arcee saw how hurt he was, she embraced him in her arms, in an attempt to comfort him. After he was done crying, she released him and told him the story about how Cliff died. When she was finished she said that she was going to go for a drive to clear her head; but Jack didn't want her to be alone, so he offered to go with her. They argued about it for a moment, but eventually she gave in, knowing that he probably didn't want to be alone either. So they both headed out.

As they drove through Jasper, Jack kept thinking about what his mom said, he couldn't believe that the Decepticons were back after all this time. As they drove on, Arcee noticed that there were two suspicious looking cars tailing them. "Heads up, we got company" she said. "Cons?" he asked as he looked behind them. "I don't see any other possibility Jack" she answered back. Thinking fast, she turned into a parking lot, in an effort to hide from their pursuers. After the cars went by, Jack took off his helmet and put it away. He let out a sigh of relief before patting Arcee's gas tank and saying "I think we're in the clear, nice work." "Are you talking to your motorcycle?" Came the voice of a girl, who was about Jack's age. She was a red head who wore a pink T-shirt with a white under shirt, a black skirt, and brown boots. He friend was a blonde who wore a orange T-shirt with a black skirt, and white tennis shoes. Jack recognized the red head as one of the girls that goes to his school. "Uh, yeah, you caught me, I do that sometimes. Your, uh, Sierra, right?" he asked. "You know my name?" "Uh, yeah, we have home room together, I'm Jack Darby." As he was finishing up his conversation, he was blasted by four bright head lights. He turned around to see that it had been those two cars that were following them. He turned back to both the girls and said "Well, as lovely as this was, I really must be going, so, see yea." As soon as those words left his mouth, he and Arcee rocketed down the road and onto the freeway, desperately trying to outrun the cons that were chasing them. Luckily Bumblebee showed up to help them, he slammed into one of the cons, which in turn sent him hurtling towards the other con. "ALRIGHT BEE!" Jack shouted. Soon enough they came to a road block, so Arcee jumped the railing and went down hill until she landed in an empty water canal.

Jack stopped to look around, and noticed that they weren't the only ones currently in the canal. Raf was also in the canal, where he had decided to race his remote control car after school. "Whoa" Raf said in excitement. "You have no idea" Jack said just before the two cars that had been chasing them also landed in the canal. The cars then transformed into their full robot states. Jack was blown away by what stood before him; he had never seen real Decepticons before. Just then Arcee transformed into her robot mode, and said "This ends here cons." She charged at the cons while they opened fire on her; she dodged all of their shots, and managed to hit one of them in the face with a flying drop kick. After that she proceeded to beat on both of them. "What are they?" Raf asked. "That's a long story, but if you really want to know, then I'll tell you later." Jack said as he continued to watch the fight. Arcee did a few back flips to get some distance between her and the cons; but during one of the flips, she was shot and fell to the ground. "MOM!" Jack yelled as he started to run to her.

"Jack, stay back" Arcee exclaimed while holding up her servo in a stopping motion. Luckily at that moment, Bumblebee jumped the curb and transformed into robot mode, he landed on the ground and delivered a deadly right hook to one of the cons. Unfortunately he wasn't watching where he was going, and accidentally stepped on Raf's toy car. He gave a few beeps of apology before Raf said "It's okay, really." After that Bumblebee got shot, fell to the ground, and the cons were pointing their blasters right at him. "LEAVE HIM ALONE! Please" Raf said the last part in a gentle way, out of fear. Both the cons turned their attention to Jack and Raf, and then Jack said "Bad call." Jack and Raf ran as one of the cons came after them. They managed to run into a storm drain, that they hoped would lead to their escape. One of the cons reached in to grab them, but was stopped by Bumblebee. After expressing their gratitude, they both continued on through the storm pipe. Back at the canal, Arcee and Bumblebee were being put through the ringer, until Bulkhead showed up to help them. He transformed and said "Who's ready to rumble?" Then the cons transformed and drove away out of fear. When Jack and Raf made it out of the storm drain, Raf decided that he wanted some answers. Jack did his best to answer some of his questions, without going too much into detail. "You asked me what they were, well I can tell you what the blue and yellow ones were. They're my family" Jack said. After that was said, Raf had way more questions to ask, but Jack told him that it was pretty late and that they would talk about it tomorrow at school. Soon after that, Arcee came to pick him up and take him home.

When they got home, they told their story to Optimus, who was a little surprised at these new turn of events. When he herd of Raf's involvement, he thought that it would be best if Jack invited him back to base for his own protection. Quite frankly Jack thought that he was right, especially if the cons came after him because they thought that he was their friend. So he decided to talk to him tomorrow when school got out.

Back in Jasper, it was the dawn of a new day. And on that day, Miko's host mom went upstairs to her room in order to get her up and ready for school. When she walked into her room, she saw that she was still asleep in her bed with the multiple drawings she had made sprawled all across the bed. Some were pictures of Jack kicking Vince's butt, others were pictures just solely of Jack. Her host mom thought that her crush on this mystery boy was simply adorable; after a brief moment of thought, she decided to wake Miko up. "Miko, wake up, it's time for school" she said as she gave her a gentle nudge. When Miko woke up her host mom asked her about the drawings she made. "Well it's hard to explain, but after he saved me it just felt like we connected, in a way that I've never connected with anyone before, ever" she said as she picked up one of the drawings she made of him and looked at it longingly. Her host mom picked up on that and said "Oh, shall I leave you and your sketches alone for a moment?" As soon as Miko was done blushing up a storm, she told her host mom to get out so she could get ready for school.

Jack was hoping that he could get through the school day quickly so that he could talk to Raf. But before that, he ran into Miko in the middle of the hallway, who wanted to ask him why he didn't call her yesterday. Jack then thought that it would be best to answer her question with the truth, well sort of anyway. "I'm sorry I didn't call you Miko, it's just that, my uncle died yesterday." "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, what happened?" "He was um, killed by a mugger, somebody robed him and then they shot him" Jack told her as he thought that it would be more believable than what actually happened. After talking about it for a bit, Jack asked if they could change the subject, to which Miko agreed. "So where are you from?" he asked. "Japan" she answered back. "No kidding, I thought it was Japan but I had to be sure. You see I've been home schooled all my life, and yesterday was the first day that my mom let me go to school with other kids. Whenever it came down to the study of history and other cultures, I never paid that much attention. But we've had tv for a long time now, and when I was a kid I watched a lot of Godzilla movies, and without those I probably wouldn't even know what Japan was. I've always thought about going to Japan but my mom never even let me out of the house until yesterday, so I've pretty much lived a sheltered life." "That sounds really boring" she said. "Some of it was and some of it wasn't, I actually learned a lot by being home schooled." After they continued to talk for a bit Jack told Miko that he really needed to find his friend; Miko let Jack go off to find his friend but not before giving him a quick hug and telling him one more time that she was sorry for his loss.

When Jack saw Raf outside, he knew that it was time to tell him the truth. He walked up to him and said "Hey Raf, look as much as I hate to do this, I really need you to come with me now." Raf was a bit surprised at this but nothing could of surprised him more than Bumblebee pulling up right next to them while honking his horn and opening his door for Raf. Bumblebee let out a few beeps and sounds that Jack was about to translate for Raf, until Raf spoke up and said "He wants me to get in." "How did you know that? I mean I know how I know that, but how do you know that?" Jack asked. "He said so, he also said that someone named Arcee is here to pick you up" Raf responded. Jack turned around to see his mom sitting there in the middle of the parking lot, in her vehicle form; but by the time he had turned back around, Raf and Bumblebee had already sped off. At that point Jack secretly signaled his mom to follow him; but what neither of them had noticed was that Miko had been drawing Arcee in her sketch book. "Coolest bike ever" Miko said as she continued to draw. Just then her phone rang, she opened it up to see who was calling, and unfortunately the answer to that question annoyed her. "Host parents, ignore" she said as she closed the phone to continue drawing, only to find out that the motorcycle was gone. She turned around to see it going down the street, and started to follow it. Arcee met Jack in an ally behind the school, where they talked about the situation that they would be putting Raf in. "I don't know about all this, I mean taking Raf to base could change everything, not to mention that we would be putting him in danger. Are you sure that we're making the right decision here?" he asked his mom before she transformed. "You know as well as I that Optimus is right, that we're his best and possibly only line of defense. Now come on we need to get home, because I'm sure that you'll want to explain this to your friend" Arcee stated. "Dude, can I come with?" They both turned their heads to the sound of the new voice they herd, there they saw Miko spying on them. Arcee knew that since Miko saw her in her robot form, that there was only one thing that she could do about this situation, and only one thing that she had to say about all of this "Scrap."

The ride back to base was an awkward one. Jack never would have thought that this is how Miko would find out his secret. But when they arrived at their destination, Jack knew that he had some explaining to do. Miko was just made of questions when she saw the other Autobots, and unfortunately for Bulkhead, he was the one that she set her sights on first. So she ran up to him to begin her interrogation. "I'm Miko, who are you?" "Bulkhead" he answered. "Are you a car, I bet you're a truck, a monster truck. Do you like heavy metal, how much do you weigh, ever use a wrecking ball for a punching bag?" After she was finished, Jack could see that Bulkhead was a little overwhelmed by Miko's questions. "So if you guys are robots, then who made you" Raf asked. "Please" Ratchet said in annoyance to that question. Just then the three kids herd loud footsteps coming from behind them, so they turned around just in time to see Optimus towering over them. "That is a very reasonable question you have Rafael, however, I believe that young Jackson has already promised you the answers that you seek." At that moment both Raf and Miko instinctively looked to Jack. Jack felt a little nervous about Optimus putting him on the spot like that, but ultimately he decided to keep his word and tell the truth. "Well first of all, they're not robots, at least not in the way you're thinking of. They're autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron, so yeah, they're aliens, but you can call them Autobots for short. Second of all, ... they're also my family" Jack hesitated on saying the last part because he knew that it would make him sound weird. Raf and Miko both gave him a look that said they wanted to know more, so he went on. He went around the room and started introducing the Autobots "This is Ratchet, he's the medic and kind of the grumpy grandpa of the team. That's Bumblebee, he's the scout and sort of a big brother figure for me. Bulkhead is my uncle and the muscle of the team. Optimus is team leader." Jack saved his mother for last because that was going to be the weirdest thing to explain. "And this is Arcee, she's second in command as well as a few other things, ... she's my mother" Jack took his time in saying the last part because he wasn't sure how they'd react. "This is your mom, that's awesome" Miko said.

After the last introduction had been made, Miko started pelting Arcee with questions. "Did you raise Jack from a baby, who's his father, what's it like to have a human for a kid?" After Miko stopped and waited for her questions to be answered, Arcee turned her sights back to Jack and said "So this is the Miko that you won't stop talking about." "MOM!" Jack shouted in embarrassment. The moment Arcee let that little tidbit slip, Jack and Miko started blushing up a storm. "So now we know what they are and where they're from, but you still haven't told us why they're here" Raf said as he interrupted their moment. "To protect your planet from the Decepticons" Optimus answered. "The guys that tried to kill us at the canal the other day" Jack clarified. Then Optimus went on to explain their history, the war they fought, and how that war brought them to their planet.

When he was finished explaining, Miko and Jack went off on their own to talk for a bit. "Well we've met everyone else, but I think the only person me and Raf haven't met yet is your dad" she said. "If by dad you mean someone who's married to your mother, then I don't have one. I guess I did a long time ago, but that jerk left my birth mother before I was even born. The way everyone explained it to me was that when he found out that she was pregnant he freaked and ditched her. But don't ask me how or why Arcee adopted me because I've been asking her that same question for years now, and every time the answer is always the same, she doesn't like to talk about it. I've never met my real mom, I don't even have a picture of her, but the one thing I do know for sure is that she loved me very much and she'd still be here with me today if she hadn't died." "That last part was very sad but at the same time very beautiful" Miko said while Jack noticed a small tear running down the side of her face. After she took a minute to compose herself, she decided to carry on with their conversation. "So I take it that your uncle wasn't killed by a mugger then?" she asked. "Uh, no he wasn't, his name was Cliffjumper and he died while fighting cons the other day. Uncle Cliff was one of the greatest men I ever knew, I remember how sad I was when I first found out that I was adopted, but uncle Cliff was the one who came and explained everything to me." "And how old were you when you found out?" "Nine years old" he responded. He told Miko that it never occurred to him that he was adopted at that age because he loved his family and he was content, plus he never even heard that word before then. So with that in mind, he decided to tell her the story of how he learned the truth.

"It all started on that one day seven years ago, we had just gotten tv six months prior to that, for some reason the Autobots didn't think it was that big of a deal until they thought I needed a distraction from all the training I was going through. And when we finally did get tv Ratchet insisted that I watch something educational, but luckily for me I was able to watch some regular stuff too. Anyway, one day when I was watching tv I herd this one word over and over again, and I decided to go ask my mom what it ment. When I asked her what the word adopted ment, she looked worried and asked why I wanted to know, so I told her why and then she relaxed and told me what the word ment. Unfortunately Ratchet overheard the last part of our conversation and thought that Arcee had finally told me that I was adopted. And when I found out that Arcee wasn't my real mom I was so upset that I just ran away in tears. I ran into an old store room where I sat on a work bench and cried my eyes out, until my uncle Cliff came and found me, he sat down on the floor so he could be right next to me and then he explained everything to me. And the amazing thing is that I can still remember everything he said to me to this very day."

 **Flashback 7 years ago**

"Tell me it isn't true uncle Cliff, tell me she's my real mom" Jack said in between sobs. "Buddy, I don't know how to tell you this but, your mom has been dead for a long time now." But hearing that didn't make Jack feel any better, in fact it only made him cry more. "And I can only imagine how this must make you feel, to have your whole world turned upside down and to think that you don't belong with this family. But I'm here right now to tell you that that's where you're wrong. So sure you're human and Arcee isn't, but just by raising and being with you, I have seen her become more human than most people and become attached to someone in a way that she hasn't been in a very long time. I've seen the way she looks at you Jack, with that desire to protect what's important to her, and all that compassion in her optics when she looks at you. It's undeniable Jack, she loves you with everything she's got, and I know that she's not your real mom, but when someone cares about you that much, then aren't they your family? Family isn't just something that's forged by the blood that you carry in your vanes, but also by the bonds that you choose to create with other people. Family is all about being around people who care about you, and for being around those who you care about in return. Jack your mom loves you and no one here wants you to leave this family, except for maybe Ratchet, but trust me when I say that it's not you and that he's like that with everyone, Ratchet's always been a big old grump" Cliffjumper intended that last part to be a joke in order to get Jack to laugh. He did however succeed in getting a slight chuckle from him, so he counted that as a victory. Then he placed a servo on Jack's back in an attempt to soothe some of his pain. "It's okay buddy, you don't have to cry anymore" he told him. Almost immediately after hearing that Jack jumped down from his place on the work bench and straight into Cliffjumper's lap to give him a great big hug. "Thank you uncle Cliff, I love you" he said with tears still streaming down his face. He placed his servo on his back in an attempt to mimic a hug and said "I love you too, and don't worry kid just like everyone else I won't leave you, you're stuck with me I promise."

 **End flashback**

"No matter what was bothering me uncle Cliff always knew what to say to make me feel better, and it was the same thing with my mom too. I miss uncle Cliff, he was family and he always will be" Jack said to Miko while not being able to hold back his tears. "This isn't a family that I was born into but it's the family that I chose to stay with and to be apart of, and it's been a choice that I've never regretted making." "That's amazing, you've gone through so much for someone who's still pretty young and despite all the bad things that have happened to you, you seem to be handling yourself fairly well. To be totally honest your life sounds incredible, but still, I'm sorry that you lost your uncle." "Thank you" he said while they both leaned in for a hug. As they embraced, Jack realized that even though things were bad now, he knew that one day they might get better.

* * *

 **A couple of things before we move on. First of which is that this chapter was suppose to be all five of the darkness rising mini series in one, but I really wanted to get this chapter out there, I hope that's alright. I know a lot of you have waited patiently for the next chapter, so this is me trying to reward that patients. If you liked it, be sure to give me a comment, and even if you didn't I'd still like your feedback, but remember be honest but fair. See you all next time, and STAY AWESOME!**


	6. Chapter 6: Darkness rising part 2

**AN: I know I haven't updated this story in a while, but I've been busy with a few other things. Plus I went back and did a complete rewrite of the first chapter, just to clear up some of the grammar errors; and I'm also going to have to do that with any of the other chapters that have errors. So without further ado, let's jump into it.**

* * *

Chapter 6: Darkness rising part 2

After Jack and Miko had their alone time, they reconvened with everyone in the command center. And they were just in time to hear Optimus's instructions on what to do regarding the Decepticons. "And since you now know of our existence, I fear that the Decepticons now know of yours" Optimus said. "So what happens now?" Raf asked.

"Well I guess that there are still more questions to be asked, and more answers to be found. And after only having just met the Autobots, I can imagine that you both must be so curious; you probably want to know everything there is to know about them, because it's not everyday that you find out that aliens are real. But for right now, I think it's about time that we take you both home; I mean after all, your families might get worried if you stay out too late" Jack said to both Raf and Miko. "Yeah right, look, I'm living a dream here in Botswana; and I'm not about to let anyone, especially my kind of a little too eager host parents, ruin it" Miko stated.

"Look Miko, it's not like I want you guys to leave; I mean you and Raf are the only, and possibly the closest friends that I will ever make in this life. Because you are now allowed to know something, to become a part of something, that no normal person was meant to be a part of; and to have faith and trust someone with that kind of secret, is a precious thing. But what you have to understand is that this isn't a game, I love my family, and I always will; but when you live this kind of life, you realize that people are going to get hurt, and sometimes even die. It's what happened to my uncle Cliff, and I don't want it to happen to anyone else; so if I seem a little concerned for your safety, then it's only because I know all of the bad things that could happen in a war. The Autobots brought you here to keep you safe, and that's all I want for you and Raf, period" Jack said firmly.

"Well said, Jack" Optimus murmured. "Optimus, having one human at base is one thing; but three is just asking for trouble. If they get underfoot, they will go squish; just as Jack could have long ago" Ratchet proclaimed. "True, however, after sixteen years of raising a human child; I believe we have become well accustomed to watching where we step, would you not agree, Ratchet?" Optimus inquired. And it was at that moment that Ratchet let out a sigh of defeat. He knew that he wasn't going to win this argument; because Optimus always made protecting humanity or defending the weak, his top priority.

Not long after that discussion, the base's proximity alarm went off. "What's that?" Miko asked as a image appeared on one of the computer screens. Jack knew all too well what that alarm ment, so he explained it to Raf and Miko. "It's the proximity alert, it means that someone's up top. And my guess is that it's probably Agent Fowler." "I thought that we were the only humans that knew about the Autobots?" Raf said. "No, Agent Fowler is their official liaison. He's kind of the go between for them and the government" Jack informed. "Given the circumstances, I believe that it is best that you do not meet him at this point" Optimus said.

Then the humans, with the exception of Jack, took a hiding position around the corner. Jack told them that since he was raised by the Autobots, that he has met Agent Fowler many times, and that it didn't matter if he saw him or not. And when Agent Fowler exited the elevator, he was not happy. "Fender benders, wrecks, traffic jams, and reports of a speeding motorcycle of unknown make, and a custom black and yellow muscle car. So, anything you care to get off your tin chest, Prime?" Fowler questioned. "We have the situation under control, Agent Fowler" Optimus said.

"They're back, aren't they?" Fowler inquired. "If you are referring to the Decepticons, I have doubts that they ever left; your planet is much too valuable to them." "Then it's time to wake up the Pentagon." "Hear me, Agent Fowler; we are your best, possibly your only defence against the Decepticons." "Says you" Fowler retorted. "Agent Fowler, please; it wasn't their fault. I don't know if you've heard or not, but my uncle Cliff was just killed the other day; so me and my mom decided to go for a ride to come to terms with his passing. And the next thing we know, we're getting chased down the highway by the cons. But my mom and the rest of my family kicked their butts, and pretty much saved my life. So don't be so hard on them" Jack stated.

Fowler let out a sigh of regret, and then said "Look son, I'm sorry for your loss; but that's no excuse for reckless fighting. Someone could have gotten hurt, or maybe even seen the bots while they were having that little brawl in Jasper. So no matter what the situation, the bots have always got to have control" he said to Jack. Arcee didn't particularly like how Fowler was talking to her son; but she knew that they had more pressing matters to discuss, so she was going to let it slide, for now. "Hey fleshy, did anyone get splattered on that freeway? Team Prime knows when to use force, and how much to use" Bulkhead said as ripped off a piece of Ratchet's equipment, and crushed it. "BULKHEAD, I NEEDED THAT!" Ratchet shouted.

"Enough, military action will only result in a loss of life. Perhaps you can condone wide spread human casualties, Agent Fowler; I however, can not" Optimus said. "Then do us both a favor and handle this, Prime, under the radar. Or I will" Fowler responded as he made his way to the elevator and left. "Pretty big bearings, for a human" Bulkhead murmured. "Agent Fowler is concerned for his world, Bulkhead; as he should be" Optimus said. Then over the course of the next few minutes, something strange happened. Cliffjumper's life signal popped back up on the computer screen.

"Blasted earth tech, Cliffjumper's signal popped back online" Ratchet proclaimed. "How is that possible?" Optimus asked. "It isn't, another bug, the system's chalked full of them" Ratchet explained. "If there's any chance Cliff's alive-" Arcee tried to say, but didn't even need to finish for everyone to get the point. "Ratchet, prepare sick bay, we may need it" Optimus ordered. "Hey, what can we do?" Miko asked. Optimus looked at her and said "Remain with Jack and Ratchet." Then both Miko and Ratchet let out a sigh of disappointment, as they were both clearly not okay with that arrangement.

"Hey mom" Jack said, which caused Arcee to turn around and look at him. "Bring him back, and please be careful" Jack said. "Don't worry, I will, I love you." "I love you too" Jack said to her as she and the other Autobots walked through the Groundbridge. When the Groundbridge powered down, Miko and Raf were instantly filled with questions. "What just happened?" Miko asked. "I transported them to the designated coordinates via the Groundbridge" Ratchet said. "What's a Groundbridge?" Raf questioned. Ratchet grew frustrated as he knew that he would have to speak more plainly to them, or at least what he considered to be plainly. "A scaled down version of Spacebridge technology" Ratchet answered.

But Jack thought that it would probably be a little more easier to understand if he explained it himself. "It's a teleporter, when they walk through it, it transports them to another location. You see, a Spacebridge can take you to any place in the galaxy, or maybe even the universe; where as a Groundbridge can only send you to destinations that are a bit more local. So we can only use it to go to places on Earth." "Thank you, Jack, for that detailed if not simple explanation of cybertronian technology. Since we don't currently possess the means or energon required for intergalactic travel-" Ratchet began to say.

"You're stuck here, on Earth" Raf said while finishing Ratchet's statement. "With the likes of you, yes; but I constructed the Groundbridge to enable travel from here, to anywhere on your planet" Ratchet said proudly. "Whoa, does it work for humans?" Raf asked. "Naturally" Ratchet answered. "You mean I could just shoot on over and visit my parents in Tokyo." "Within moments; in fact, allow me to send you there immediately, all three of you." "Watch it, Ratchet" Miko retorted. "Don't take it too personal, it's not you, it's him. Ratchet is like this with every human he meets" Jack assured them.

* * *

When the other Autobots walked through the Groundbridge, they came upon an energon mine that was currently being excavated by the Decepticons. But that didn't matter to them at the moment. All they wanted was to save Cliffjumper, and to bring him home. "Let's save Cliffjumper" Optimus said. When the Decepticons finally became aware of their presence, a fight ensued. They shot at them with their blasters, while the Autobots began to charge and fire back.

Each member of team Prime had their own unique fighting style. Arcee and Bumblebee relied primarily on their speed and agility, while Optimus and Bulkhead focused mainly on brute strength and marksmanship. And some of them even alternated between bot mode and vehicle mode during the fight.

The Autobots were just taking down enemy after enemy; and it was clear that whatever the cons had in numbers, the bots more than made up for in skill.

* * *

Back at base, Ratchet found it difficult to ignore the humans and do his job at the same time. "What is this anyway?" Miko asked as she checked out one of the machines. "Broken, don't touch" Ratchet answered. "Don't touch that either" he said as Miko reached for another part of the machine. "Is there anything in here we can touch?" she asked.

Almost immediately after she said that, an error sign appeared on one of the computer screens. "How come you guys are using human computers?" Raf questioned. "It certainly isn't by choice. It was handed down from the previous tenets when we inherited this former missile silo. I make modifications as I see fit" Ratchet explained. Then more error signs popped up, to which Ratchet gave a sigh of annoyance to.

"I...think I can fix that" Raf said as he pulled his laptop out of his backpack. "Really? You know this is complex technology, don't you? I mean, it isn't a child's toy" Ratchet finished with a chuckle. "Now try" he said as he finished typing on his laptop. When Ratchet went back to working on the console, he was amazed to find out that all the errors had been cleared away.

"Wow, you know I never thought that I would see the day that someone would actually out do Ratchet. But I guess there's a first time for everything" Jack said as he saw Raf work. Apparently, one of his new friends must have been a super genius; or maybe he was just a little bit above everyone else in his class.

* * *

Back in the mine, the Autobots continued their assault on the Decepticons. They smashed their drills and plowed through them; before they transformed into vehicle mode and proceeded through the mine. They eventually came to a stop and transformed back to bot mode, just before they saw how big the Con's mining operation really was. There were many Vehicons mining energon on multiple levels of the mine. And at the center of the excavation site, there was a huge tube that connected all the way up to the Decepticon's ship, The Nemesis. "Wow, quite an operation" Bulkhead said before the shooting started up again.

As the Autobots fired back, Arcee noticed Cliffjumper's body on one of the upper levels of the mine. "It's Cliff, I have a visual" she said. "We'll cover you, go" Optimus ordered. As soon as the order was given, Arcee charged her way through the Decepticon hordes, and scrapped anyone who got in her way. But when she finally managed to reach Cliffjumper, what she saw came as a shock to her; both his left arm and the entire lower half of his body was completely gone, and there was some sort of strange purple liquid that was leaking out of him.

Then the platform that he was on collapsed due to all the shooting that the cons were doing. "CLIFF!" Arcee shouted as she reached out and tried to stop him from falling. "Let's get you home, partner" she said as she held on to him by his one remaining arm. But when Cliffjumper looked at her, she was horrified by what she saw; his eyes were now pure purple and he snarled and roared at her, like some kind of monster. And she knew that whatever he had become, it was no longer Cliffjumper.

He struggled and squirmed in her grasp, which caused her to lose her grip and drop him to the ground below. The next thing that could be heard was the sound of laughter echoing throughout the mine. And it was revealed that the source of the laughter was a gun metal gray Decepticon with a red horn in the center of his forehead, and jet wings that were sprouting from his back; his name was Starscream, and he was also Megatron's sniveling little SIC. "Prime, I'd stick around but I'm squeamish" he said before he dropped a bomb in the middle of the mine, and transformed to jet mode so he could fly away to safety.

As the timer on the bomb started to count down, Bulkhead shouted "THE JOINT'S GONNA BLOW!" "Autobots, roll out" Optimus commanded. Then they all transformed and drove off in a desperate race to beat the clock. Not long after they started driving, the bomb went off and ignited the energon in an explosion of blue flames. As they tried to stay ahead of the flames, Optimus contacted Ratchet. "Ratchet, bridge us back; use the arrival coordinates, NOW!" Immediately after he said that, a portal appeared right in front of them; and the Autobots drove through it in an attempt to avoid the explosion and make it safely back to base.

* * *

The Bots made it through the Groundbridge, however some of the explosion managed to follow them to their base. When Optimus reached the end of the tunnel, he transformed and skidded to a stop just as the Groundbridge shutdown and the blue flames came to a halt right behind him. All of the kids were in awe by this scene; it was understandable why Miko and Raf would think that it was cool, and even for Jack, that wasn't something that he saw everyday. "Cutting it a bit close, how about Cliffjumper?" Ratchet asked.

But their only answer to that question were looks of sorrow. "What was that explosion, was there a fight, can I come with next time?" Miko questioned. "Look" Arcee murmured as she was getting frustrated. But Jack, seeing that his mom was getting upset, decided to intervene. "Hey, hey, Miko; they don't seem to be in the best mood right now, so maybe you should hold your questions until later." "Ah" Miko whined in defeat. "Arcee, what did you see?" Optimus inquired. "Not Cliff, at least not anymore. He was mutated, butchered; like something from those Con experiments during the war."

Jack was saddened to hear about his uncle's fate, and worried when he saw his mother start to feel dizzy and collapse. "Mom, are you ok?" he asked as Bumblebee tried to help her up. "I'm fine, just dizzy" she answered. "Robots who get dizzy?" Miko said. "Robots with emotions?" Raf said as he added to Miko's observation. "Robots who can die? Miko said as she finished their joint analysis. "I told you they weren't the kind of robots that you were thinking of" Jack said. Then Ratchet gave Arcee a full body scan, and something funny caught his attention.

"What is this?" he said referring to the strange purple liquid on her servo. "Don't know, Cliff was covered in it, leaking it" she responded. Ratchet scraped off the liquid with a scalpel and said "Go take a decontamination bath, now." While Arcee stepped into a chamber for her decontamination bath, Miko found out that her phone had no cell service. "Uh, guys, I hate to be "that girl", but no bars" she said referring to her phone's poor signal strength. Optimus understood her query and chose to put it to rest himself. "A security precaution, the silo walls isolate all radio waves" he said. "Well don't get me wrong, I'd much rather stay here and hang out with you guys; but I'm pretty sure that if I don't call my host parents, like now, then they'll probably have the cops out looking for me" she said.

"Have you broken a law?" Optimus asked. "Well...sort of, if you count curfew, it's after 10:00 PM" she clarified. "I better get home too, or I'll be grounded for a year" Raf exclaimed. "Earth customs, I hadn't considered. But the issue of your safety remains. Bulkhead, accompany Miko home" Optimus instructed. "Awesome, my host parents will freak!" she said excitedly. "And maintain covert surveillance, in vehicle form" Optimus specified. "Curb side duty, got it" Bulkhead responded. Then Miko whined in disappointment.

"Bumblebee, you'll watch over Raf" Optimus said. Raf seemed rather pleased with that arrangement. And when Arcee was done with her decontamination bath, it was decided that since she was Jack's mother, that she would be given the responsibility of safeguarding him; to which she happily accepted. "Jack, I'm sorry that I couldn't bring uncle Cliff home; I tried, Primus knows I tried." "I know you did, mom; and it's not your fault, you couldn't of known what they were going to do to him. I miss uncle Cliff, but I also know that if you couldn't save him, then no one could" he said with tears forming in his eyes.

"Thank you" was the only response his mom had for him; and she knew that it was the only response that could truly express her gratitude for her son's support and understanding towards her efforts. "Well...I guess we better get going; I'm really sorry for your loss. Will we see you at school tomorrow?" Miko asked. "Yeah, I'll be there. So I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school" Jack said before both Miko and Raf gave him a hug and then left with Bulkhead and Bumblebee. "What could she possibly know about loss?" Arcee said in an upset tone. Jack turned to his mom and said "Maybe nothing, but at least she knows to give sympathy when it's needed."

"Jack, look, I know we've talked about it before, but I still don't think it's a good idea for you to go to school. I worry about you enough when it comes to just the thought of you leaving the safety of the base; and now I have to worry about you being made a target by the Decepticons." "I'm sixteen, I can't stay cooped up inside the house forever. Look, I may have been a kid When you explained the cruelty of war to me, but I'm not anymore. You taught me how to fight, and to protect myself; but you also raised me to be responsible, and to make good choices. And part of that means learning more about the world around you. So I chose this, and I'll be responsible, I promise."

"Well I'm glad to know you finally have a reason to use your phone, every single time you're in trouble; and you will have me or one of the others go with you whenever you leave the base" Arcee said with an authoritative smirk and while pointing a finger at him. And So Jack and his mom agreed that he would call her if his life was ever in danger of Decepticon attack, among other reasons. And Jack knew that it seemed like a steep price to pay for a little bit of freedom; but he also knew that the first step in attaining that freedom, was trust. He had to show his mom that she could trust him to do what's right.

* * *

The next day, Ratchet was hard at work in trying to identify the strange purple substance that he scraped off of Arcee. "The base elements of this goo are like nothing I've ever encountered. It must be extremely concentrated to have affected Arcee so rapidly. Unfortunately, complete results are slow coming without the use of proper diagnostic tools, thank you very much Bulkhead" Ratchet said sarcastically as he was moving the slide reel with the purple liquid on it. However, unaware to him, the liquid dripped onto the very same tool that Bulkhead broke. And then the piece of equipment started to mutate into something else, something savage.

* * *

 **AN: And that's the end of the chapter; I'm sorry that you didn't get to see all of the scenes with the Decepticons, but I did say that the main focus of this story would be family, and the Decepticon scenes didn't seem all that important to me. The relationship between Jack and Miko will eventually start to heat up. If you guys want to see more scenes with the Decepticons, then let me know in the reviews. And remember, be honest but fair. STAY AWESOME!**


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